Meddling With Fate
by Forsaken Heretic
Summary: A stranger with no memory of his past and knowledge of things he shouldn't appears out of thin air. How much effect can one man have on the galaxy. Especially when he joins the crew of a certain Frigate. Tali/OC MShep/Liara rated M for Marine speak.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Mass Effect and all of its characters are property of Bioware

**AN at end of chapter**

Prologue

_The entity watched as the glow of the machine began to die down and its precious cargo had begun its journey. It sat contemplating the now dormant dais and the impact that the individual would have on the contingency plan._

"_A contingency plan for a contingency plan," it thought, "Ksad would approve."_

_The entity then began to power down the remaining systems of the complex as it prepared to return to its silent vigil of the complex. As the remaining lights winked out it once again reflected on the one that it had been its only company for the last few cycles. The simplicity of the creature had astounded it almost as much as the shear amount of chaos it had brought to every modeled scenario it had presented it. Most surprising had been the final orders that the being had given it before it started its journey._

_As darkness began to envelope the complex it considered one more scenario model to satisfy its own curiosity. While it would not be accurate in any way it would give him something to dream about as it returned to its sleep…_

_Him???_

_Sleep???_

_The entity gave a chuckle as the full extent of the influence of his friend began to make itself known at the same time the scenario finished its predicted course. He reviewed the results for a time before he let loose a loud guffaw of laughter and began his hibernation._

_It almost felt pity for the destroyers._

_Almost… _

* * *

"Not now you stupid little bosh'tet!"

Not for the first time, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya began to curse the malfunctioning scanner as the screen faded into static once again. She stared at the machine and was barely able to resist the urge to hurl it on the rocky ground of her camp site.

"_Auntie Raan told you not to trust a volus trader that is too respectful,"_ she scolded herself.

Although she now knew exactly why the scanner had been such a bargain…

With a frustrated sigh she set down the scanner and activated her omni-tool and began the arduous task of once again bypassing the overtaxed circuits of the equipment. As she listened to the tones and beeps of the glowing tool at work she began to reflect on her situation.

"_Three weeks into my pilgrimage and all I have to show for it is a courier shuttle that is almost out of fuel, a pistol less than a quarter of a ballistic block, a energy scanner older than the flotilla, and a handful of unconfirmed reports of geth."_

As she thought of the last one her mood began to darken even more.

At the time it had seemed like a good idea, track down small patrol and find out what her people's mistake was doing beyond the Perseus Veil. It would give the Migrant Fleet invaluable intel on a possible threat and it would make her father proud.

But after a week of dead end leads in some backwater system she was beginning to think that she should have done what most of her friends had suggested and start looking into a used starship. She could probably find one that was in decent enough shape and the fleet always welcomed new ships.

She continued to daydream about commanding the newest addition to her people's fleet before shaking her head. She had already used to many credits to be able to afford anything more than a courier shuttle, and that was if she didn't worry about the condition. Besides she had already committed herself to her course and she wasn't going to back down because of a malfunctioning piece of equipment.

A moment later her optimism was rewarded with a tone indicating that omni-tool had finished it's repairs. She gave it a triumphant grin as she powered the scanner on to check for geth.

"_It's like father always said, we Quarians can fix anything, give us some junk parts and some eezo and we can…"_ Her internal monologue trailed off as the scanner began to click insistently. She frowned as she adjusted the display.

"_That's not a geth signature," _she thought, _"That's dark energy and the only times I've seen that much released at once is..."_

Her train of thought was brought to an end when the ground around her began to heave violently. Confused she quickly clung to the scanner as she tried to steady herself.

"_This is area was completely stable when I scanned it what is going on?"_ she thought desperately. Any more thoughts were brutally cut off with a loud roar of thunder that brought her to her knees. As she slowly stood up she became aware of two things. The first was a small plume of smoke that had just started to rise over the next ridge. The second was the text on the display of the scanner announcing that it had found a match to the energy pattern.

Relay Transit.

She stared at the scanner for a moment before setting it down and drawing her pistol. She cautiously made her way to the ridge as her mind began to supply her images of what she would find when she reached the smoke plume.

A new geth weapon?

An undiscovered cache of Prothean technology?

As she arrived at the crest of the ridge she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart before she slowly levered herself across…

…And nearly dropped her pistol in shock.

Not thirty meters before her had once been a sloping hillside covered in rocks and some shrubbery. Now it looked as if someone had came and flattened an area ten meters in diameter and polished it to a glass like finish. And in the center of it, obscured by the smoke, was a shape.

As she began to ease her way forward a sudden breeze cleared away the smoke and she did drop her pistol. Lying in the center of the glassed area was a body with steam rising from it. Concern outweighing caution she broke into already prepping her omni-tool with a dose of medigel. As she reached the body she knelt down and turned it over.

She gawked at the sight of the pink skin face before her.

A Human!

Granted it wasn't the first time she had seen a human before, she had met several at refueling stations since beginning her pilgrimage, but this one didn't seem much older than her! He was clad in a simple jumpsuit with a dark jacket of some sort over the top of it. His head was topped with covering of dark hair that fell around his ears and over the top of some strange metal wire and glass construct that covered his eyes. Clutched in his hands was a rucksack that had an equal amount of steam rising from it.

She shook herself out of her daze and began checking him, she was fairly certain it was a male, for injuries. As she reached out to see if he was still breathing she screamed when his eyes suddenly shot open and he abruptly sat up, his head swiveling back and forth in confusion. When he caught sight of her he jumped to his feet at the same time she did. For a time the two stood there staring at one another before she cleared her throat tried to speak to him.

"Are you injured?" she began slowly. Instead of answering her question he tilted his head to the side, his brow furrowing as if in contemplation. After a few moments she tried again.

"Can you understand me?"

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya of the Quarian Migrant Fleet."

She jumped at the sudden statement from the human and stared at him as she finally processed what he had said. After a moment he nodded his head as though coming to a conclusion.

"You are important."

Unbidden she felt her cheeks flush at the odd statement.

"W-what do you mean?" she stammered.

The strange human frowned for a moment before shaking his head.

"I don't know why you are important, just that you are."

She caught a look of confusion in his eyes before she spoke up.

"Who are you?"

The simple question seem to surprise him and a look of panic appeared in his green eyes before he answered her.

"I don't know."

* * *

**Author Note:**

Yeah I know.

He hasn't updated one story in almost two years and suddenly he starts a new one.

I'm a prick.

Believe me I have been trying but in between a full time job and taking college courses on those days that I don't work I have had precious little time for writing and those time that I do sit down I have been fighting writers block and and vile plot bunnies on completely unrelated subjects.

This is not me trying to make excuses,

This is me stating a few facts.

I will continue to try and update A Kindred Spirit but those updates maybe sporadic as I will try my hand at weekly updates for this story.

This will be Tali/OC story with a few surprises every now and then and a really evil surprise planned for my oc.

I plan on skipping some of Mass Effect 1 to try and give the story a bit more realism.

(No way in hell I am going to write about Shepard running around planet after planet in the Mako)

I also plan on altering events that happen in game to address somethings that always bugged me.

If you like then review.

Fair warning any flames will be directed to the little voices in my head that tell me to burn things.

Until next week.


	2. Chapter OneMeetings

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. It is the property of Bioware. I do own the character known as Dee. Weep for his soul.

AN after the chapter.

Chapter 1- Bad Feelings

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Radio Conversations/Disembodied Voices"_

* * *

"…_be at the indicated location, with the evidence, in two hours. The Shadow Broker will then verify the authenticity of the data and then the two of you will negotiate the fee."_

"Just the two of us? You mean to say that you will not be present at the meeting?"

"_I will be there to make the introduction but The Shadow Broker prefers to speak with clients in private. You will be alone correct?"_

"Of course, I will see you in two hours."

"_Until then my dear."_

As the terminal cut the video connection Tali didn't even bother to suppress the shudder she felt. The human owner of Chora's Den had, like Doctor Michel said, been a contact for The Shadow Broker. After contacting him he had been more than able to arrange a meeting with his boss to trade the information she had and she was grateful. But the smile the man had on his face made her skin crawl. Just speaking to the man made her feel like she had been swimming in four year old engine coolant. She was brought out of her musings by a much more welcome communication.

"_Tali? Good news, the Salarian bought the shuttle."_

The young quarian gave a small smile before she answered her friend.

"That's good news Dee. How much did he agree to?"

When she heard the amount her jaw dropped.

"How… Why would he pay us that much for it? It's not even functioning anymore. Keelah he was the one that towed it into the dock!"

"_I think he is planning to leave it on display as is for his customers to see."_

Tali immediately became suspicious at the evasive tone in her friends voice.

"Dee," she began slowly, "what did you tell him."

"_I may have implied that the shuttle saw action during Relay 314 Incident, and he may be under the impression that it was the shuttle that delivered the Council's orders for the ceasefire."_

Tali shook her head in amusement at her friend's antics before frowning.

'_I thought the humans called it the First Contact War'_

"_Enough of my questionable business practices what did Fist have to say?"_

She quickly relayed the content of her brief conversation with the oily human as well as the agreement. When she finished she wandered to a nearby railing to enjoy the view of the Nebula as she waited for her friend's response.

"…_That is a bad idea."_

She shook her head in confusion; this was not the reaction she had been expecting.

"What do you mean?" she asked, "I thought you agreed that next to the Alliance Ambassador the Shadow Broker was the best person to speak to?"

_"I still do,"_ he said simply, _"but I was actually referring to you meeting them alone."_

"Fist said that the Shadow Broker wanted to make sure that no one could identify him," she argued, "besides if I don't show up by myself then they might call off the deal and where would that leave us? C-Sec won't let either one of us up on the Presidium to meet with the human ambassador."

_"I know,"_ he responded, _"It's just that every file I've been able to dig up on the Shadow Broker says that he never conducts business face to face only through intermediaries. What makes this deal so different?"_

"We did say that we had evidence that a traitor within the Spectres was collaborating with the geth and was responsible for the attack on Eden Prime two weeks ago. You're just being paranoid."

_"It's only paranoia if I'm wrong,"_ he responded in a matter of fact tone.

She shook her head before speaking, "And if you're right?"

The channel was silent, she began to check to radio to make sure he was still connected when he finally answered her.

_"If I'm right then I get to say I told you so at my best friend's funeral."_

The tone in his voice had none of its usual good humor, in fact it sounded distracted as though he had found something…

…Or seen something.

"What is it Dee, did you have another flash?"

It had been happening every now and then since they arrived at the Citadel, her friend would be looking at something when he would suddenly get a far off look in his face. Each time only lasted a few seconds and when asked about it he told her he saw a flurry of images dealing with whatever he was looking at.

The first time it had happened they had been passing by a salarian who had been trying to scan one of the keepers. Dee had immediately grabbed the salarian by the arm and told him that he should talk to his partner and make sure there were no misunderstandings between them.

It happened several more time after that incident and when she asked about it he merely responded in a distracted voice that it was 'a good experience' for them.

Dee was silent for a moment before he answered her.

_"I saw Fist catching a shotgun blast to the fast from a Krogan. And a sense of satisfaction at seeing it happen."_

She shuddered at the cold tone of his voice.

"What do you suggest then?"

He didn't immediately answer her but she could hear him muttering to himself at the other end of the radio. He had a habit of thinking out loud whenever he thought nobody was listening, she had teased him about the dangers of having conversations with voices in his head to which he had laughed.

After a few minutes he spoke to her.

_"Go to the meeting as planned. According to the building plans there is a spot there that I can get to unseen and provide support if things go badly."_

She nodded at nothing before pushing away from the railing and checked her time piece. She had one hour to make it to the meeting spot.

"Alright then I'll see you there."

_"Tali…"_

"Yes?"

_"… be careful."_

With that the comlink beeped to let her know that the connection had been closed ending the conversation. She shook her head affectionately at the protective nature of her friend.

"Like an over protective family member," she thought.

As the conversation ended she slowly began to make her way through the market district of the Meer Wards she side stepped an irate human arguing with a turian shopkeeper. As she made her way towards what she began to suspect may be a trap her hand unconsciously brushed against the pistol at her side and thought back to incident that landed them in this mess to begin with.

**Flashback**

Tali carefully checked her scanner as she continued to shadow the geth patrol several hundred meters ahead of her in the canyon. Behind her was the strange human carrying the transmitter that, she hoped, was blocking them from the geth sensors. Despite the heavy equipment he was carrying he seemed to cross the rocky terrain with barely a whisper, a feat she was envious of.

It had been almost a week since she had found him and despite her misgivings he had proved to be an able partner. She had originally planned to ferry him to a nearby human colony but he had been insistent on accompanying her on her pilgrimage saying only that it was important. Despite her misgivings she agreed and was pleasantly surprised that he was able to pull his own weight with the work. At first he seemed lost when it came to maintenance but he learned quickly and between the two of them had restored the aging shuttle to some semblance of working order. He had made no complaints about the cramped conditions of the shuttle and passed most of the time by hacking dummy files on his omni-tool. When asked he merely replied that it was good practice.

Ahead of them the geth patrol came to a halt next to a side trail in the canyon wall, and she held her breath.

"_Please split up. Please split up."_

As if to answer her silent prayer the patrol began to move in different directions. The majority continued up the main trail in the canyon while one unit, to her delight, began to make its way along the side route. She had been trying to think of a way of getting a unit alone and the geth went ahead and did the work for her. She turned to the human behind her before speaking quietly.

"We wait until the main group is out before we go after the straggler, understand Tas…my friend?"

He gave her small smile at her hesitation to use his chosen moniker and nodded silently before focusing his attention on the retreating backs of the geth, his face a mask of concentration that did not mirror the disgust that she felt at having to call him by that name. In the week that they had been traveling he still couldn't remember his own name and after an offhand comment from her he began to use that word as a name.

Tasi…

No-one…

Among her people it was a disgrace to insinuate that someone did not belong to part of the fleet. And he simply took it in stride.

"I can't remember my own name Tali," he explained, "If I have no name then I am No-one."

He shrugged.

"It's not an insult if it's the truth."

Even with his nonchalant acceptance of the names meaning she refused to call him that despite his insistence. Every time she needed to get his attention she called him her friend or shipmate.

She would not belittle him with that name.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a light tap on her arm. She looked up to see her friend pointing towards the now empty trail. She nodded and she made her way quietly towards the lone geth, unlimbering her modified shotgun as she went. This was the tricky part of the plan and they would only get one shot at it.

They had realized that even if they could find the geth they would need to disable it somehow. They couldn't kill it as the memory cores would automatically and while an EMP could disable the synthetic it would also destroy the memory core as surely as the geth would. Since the geth were immune to any long term hacking attempts they realized they would have to _physically_ disable it.

The result was the shotgun she was now holding. It had taken him several hours but in the end Tasi had managed to alter it appropriately for their plan.

Normally a shotgun m/a weapon would shave a dozen or so sand grain sized pieces of the before firing. Tasi had rigged it to fire several _hundred_ pieces simultaneously in a cone shaped fashion. He warned her that many pieces at once would produce an extreme amount of recoil and most likely render the weapon useless, but it would shred anything up to a range of several meters.

He jokingly referred to the modified Katana as "The Mulcher".

As they made their way through the narrow trail they quickly caught up with the lone synthetic at a dead end. The unit was examining a rockslide twenty meters ahead and still had its back to them as she eased her way out of cover towards the unit; she had to get closer than ten meters if she wanted to make sure she had an accurate shot.

Nineteen meters…

Seventeen meters…

Thirteen meters…

As she raised the weapon her foot dislodged a rock send a clatter through the enclosed space and she froze when the machine turned its head towards her. It began to turn, reaching for its weapon when a voice called out from behind her.

"Tali take the shot!"

Snapping out of her fear she brought the gun up and pulled the trigger. With a roar like thunder she felt the butt of the weapon slam into her gut from the recoil and nearly fell to the ground, for a moment she thought that she had been shot and then she saw the geth lying on the ground before her.

The machine had been bringing its weapon around in a low arc with both hands when she had fired. When she did a cone of what looked like blue fire enveloped the geth from the waist down and the legs, hands, and the weapon seemingly disappeared. The machine now lay on the ground chirping desperately as it tried to move limbs that were no longer there.

She stared at it in shock when she was suddenly pushed forward.

"Tali hurry up," the human urged desperately, "The damned thing is calling for help!"

With a start she threw her now useless shotgun to the side and sprinted the remaining distance to the geth. As she slid to its side and planted the contact strip for her omni-tool on its chest she tried to ignore single eye glaring at her as she tried to rip as many files as she could from the core. As her search protocol began to return its results she began to curse herself at her hesitation.

The logistics banks, the parts of the memory that would be of the most use to her people, had already been purged. Patrol routes, weapons, ship designs, and tactics all gone before she took two steps towards the machine. The only thing that it could recover was a brief clip from the unit's audio/visual logs. Before she could play the file a sudden impact slammed into her from behind and carried her across the now dead geth unit. As she impacted against the rocky ground she turned her head and caught the sight of Tasi sprawled atop her out of the corner of her eye.

"What are you…" she began angrily as she tried to stand up only for him to force her down in a surprisingly strong grip for his slight frame.

"Stay down!"

His words were punctuated with a volley of directed energy that was impacting against the meager cover he had forced her behind.

'_The rest of the patrol'_ she realized with a mounting feeling of despair.

Tasi leaned out of cover to take a peek at the geth before pulling back quickly in time to avoid a burst of weapons fire. With one hand he straightened his optical correction tool (glasses, Tali, they're called glasses) before turning to her.

"We've still got someone looking out for us there are only two of them. They must have come back to check on that one." He gestured dismissively at the motionless corpse across from them. She nodded absently even as she felt bile rise in the back of her throat.

Two geth or twenty geth it made no difference as their shotgun was scrap metal and she had traded her pistol for that days ago. She felt a cold lump form in her stomach as she realized that she was going to die. No they were both going to die, her and her friend.

'_All because you had to try and get that geth data'_

'_He trusted and supported you in this and you're now he's going to die'_

She swallowed before turning to him.

"My friend… I'm sorry…"

She was cut off when he suddenly jerked his right hand to the side. In a blur of motion a rapidly expanding weapon shot out of his right sleeve and into his waiting hand. He waited for it to finish expanding before thrusting the black and red weapon over their cover and fired. A loud buzzing noise filled the air for a brief moment before repeating itself four more times. As he pulled his arm back she stared in surprise at the weapon. He gave her a nervous smile as the weapon began to fold itself back into itself before retracting back into his sleeve.

"I'm just glad I remembered to bring Thanatos along."

They stood up and she stared at the two twitching corpses of the geth their bodies riddled with a number of holes. She then began to mentally kick herself as she remembered him showing her one of the weapons he had found in his rucksack when he was looking for clues as to his identity.

He quickly ran to the corner of the passage and peered around it before turning back to her and waving her forward urgently.

"Come on, in between the explosion and Stumpy there calling for help, the rest of the patrol must have heard something. We need to hurry and get back to the Rust Bucket."

Despite the seriousness of the situation she felt herself giggle at the affectionate name he had given the shuttle. He had even taken to painting it across the nose of the aging ship.

"Of course my friend let's hurry."

As they ran through the canyon, eyes scanning for geth pursuit, Tasi turned to her.

"You're really dead set against calling me Tasi aren't you?"

She shook her head adamantly.

"I will not insult you like that," she replied, "As a clan name it would imply that you are unknown or have no past…"

She turned to look at him narrowing her silver eyes in frustration.

"…But to use it as a _given_ name means that you do not, or, should not exist."

The rest of the trip back to the Rust Bucket was spent in silence as was the mad scramble to prepare for lift off. As they settled into their seats he turned to her suddenly.

"Dee," he said simply. She frowned in confusion.

"What?"

He smiled before continuing.

"It's kind of hazy but my name, my Real name, started with the letter D."

As he turned back to the controls and began the take off sequence he kept talking.

"And since technically I am crewing aboard this, ahem, ship I think I have a name that I can use."

He locked the controls into autopilot before turning to her and smiling warmly.

"My name is Dee'Tasi Vas Rust Bucket..."

His smile faltered for a moment as he blushed.

"…That is… If it's alright that I use a quarian name."

Despite herself Tali laughed at his nervousness.

"It's alright 'Dee' I don't mind," she assured him taking care to place emphasis on his chosen given name. She patted him on the shoulder as she continued, "besides at the rate you're improving I think you'll be a good enough mechanic that in a few weeks I can call you an honorary quarian."

Dee gave off a relieved chuckle.

"Thanks Tali."

He straightened before gesturing to her omni-tool.

"Were you able to get anything useful from the memory core?"

She shook her head before activating the data function on the tool.

"Most of it was fried even before I began the hack, all that is left is an audio/visual file, here let me play it."

The two listened to the file play in its entirety and by the time it finished were both silent. After a few moments she turned to a now very pale Dee.

"That… that was Saren Arterius… wasn't it?" she asked faintly, "…The Spectre… the council's best Spectre…"

A beeping from the console brought them both back to reality. In an instant Dee had turned off the autopilot and read the warning that was flashing across the display. If possible his face got even paler as he turned to Tali.

"Ladar paints two geth ships on an intercept course; they'll be in weapons range in five minutes."

At this Tali brought up the navmap on her console and plotted the course to the nearest mass relay.

"The closest relay is for the Citadel but its nine minutes out."

The two stared at each other before Dee spoke.

"Aw hell…"

**End Flashback**

_"Tali are you there?"_

Tali shook her head as she brought herself out of her memories.

"Sorry Dee, you were saying something?"

_"I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes Tali,"_ despite the relative calm of his voice she could hear the concern in his voice, _"are you okay?"_

"Just some memories," she said looking around to see where she was, "I'm almost at the meeting site are you ready?"

_"Just about there, but I though you should now there was an alert just sent out C-Sec's secure channel,"_ the human said, a worried tone in his voice, _"Something about a fire fight at Chora's Den a few minutes ago."_

Tali slowed to a halt as she approached the pressure door leading to maintenance hallway where the meeting was to take place.

"Do you think it has something to do with us?"

_"I…I'm not sure… Do you have Thanatos with you?"_

Tali smiled as she reached down and patted the decidedly vicious machine pistol he had given her.

"Yes I have it right here."

_"Is your suit patch still holding?"_

She let out a small laugh before answering.

"Yes _mother_ my suit is fine."

Dee gave a small cough before answering, _"Sorry it's just… Be careful okay?"_

"I will Dee," she glanced at her chronometer, "We still have a few minutes, I'll wait for you to get setup before I go in okay?"

_"Alright just keep the channel open just in case."_

She leaned against the wall next to the door as she waited and took the time double check herself. The machine pistol, Thanatos she told herself, was the same one that Dee had used on the geth. When he realized that she was unarmed he had given it to her without hesitation despite her protests. She had told him that she didn't want to leave him without a sidearm and he waved it off before brandishing a _second_ pistol out of his other sleeve.

"For some odd reason I had two of them in my bag," he had replied casually.

When she was satisfied that the weapon was in working order she checked the seal on her arm to make sure that the breach in her suit was still contained.

When the two of them were fleeing the geth ships she had left her seat to try and coax more power out of the engine. She had succeeded and they made it to the Mass Relay just as the geth were in range. Unfortunately the strain had been too much for the overtaxed engine and as soon as they arrived the engine failed spectacularly and the resulting overload had caught her arm and burned through her suit.

With Dee's help she was able to disinfect the wound and place a temporary seal on the breach, and eventually they were towed into the dock by a salarian salvage worker. She felt a small pang of loss at thought of their shuttle being sold like that but they needed the money if they wanted to get anywhere and unfortunately they both agreed that with the damage the Rust Bucket would never fly again.

With a sigh she checked her chronometer and headed towards the door.

"Are you ready Dee?"

_"Ready, Tali."_

With a hiss the door opened to reveal the dimly lit alleyway. As she walked through the door she saw a turian turn towards her and wave her towards him. Beyond him she could see a trio of armed salarians leaning against some cargo containers. As she made her way towards him she heard Dee speak to her.

_"I'm above and behind you Tali. I have a clear line of sight at the turian and all three salarians. I'll open fire on your signal."_

She began to answer him but cut herself off as the turian approached her as he drew close he spoke up.

"You the quarian with the data disk?"

Not liking the situation she immediately began to question him.

"Where is the Shadow Broker? Where is Fist?"

The turian gave a smirk before answering.

"They'll be here," he told her smugly as he reached out touch the seal on her suit, "Now where is the evidence."

Tali swatted his hand away and was dimly aware of both the door opening behind her and a low growl coming from her radio. She did not like the situation one bit.

"No way the deal is off."

As she began to leave she heard the turian give a small laugh.

"The boss never said we had to take you alive."

The salarians that had been leaning began to draw their weapons when she burst into action. In one smooth motion she palmed a tech mine from her belt and threw it towards the three salarians where it detonated in a flash. As she moved away from the turian she heard a loud roar and saw the turians head explode in a spray of gore.

She noticed one of the Salarians had managed to avoid her flash bomb and was beginning to draw a bead on her. Her hand flashed down to her leg and came up with Thanatos and began to fire on the salarian. While Dee had warned her about the recoil she was surprised when the weapon bucked in her hand and sprayed the target with on onslaught of projectiles. The shields on the salarian flared for a moment before failing and the tall alien's torso armor was shredded. She began to shift her aim to the remaining two when the alley was filled the roar of several assault rifles firing at once. In an instant the two remaining assassins had been cut down. She turned around and felt her jaw drop in surprise.

Behind her were three humans, a turian, and a krogan. All three humans wore armor that bore the emblems of the Systems Alliance on them, the turian was a C-Sec officer that she had seen around the wards, and the krogan… well he just looked mean!

As the five of them approached her the gravity of the situation finally hit her. Angrily she shoved her borrowed weapon into its clip on her leg.

"Fist set us up! That bosh'tet!"

The lead human opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a pounding noise coming from a nearby ventilation duct. They turned to it just as the cover was kicked into the hallway revealing a very dirty Dee.

"Told you couldn't trust him," he said matter-of-factly as he began to dust himself off. He gave the group in front of them a side long look as he moved to place himself between them and her. As he moved his hand began drifting to the back of his coat and sniper rifle he had hidden there. The human, a commander by his rank insignia, saw this and raised his hands as if to calm him down.

"Don't worry we're not with Fist," he told them in a mild tone, "I'm Commander John Shepard with the Systems Alliance."

Tali nodded towards him before introducing herself, "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya or Tali if you prefer."

Dee raised a hand in greeting and spoke up, "Dee'Tasi vas Rust Bucket at your service," he said with a small grin.

The C-Sec officer looked at him oddly, "Isn't that a quarian name?" he asked with a small bit of amusement at his ship name.

Dee's grinned widened as he answered him, "I am an honorary quarian."

Shepard gave a small chuck before his face and his tone became serious, "I understand that you two have evidence proving that Saren Arterius is a traitor."

Tali nodded her head before speaking up, "We do Commander. Perhaps we can repay you for your assistance in dealing with those assassins."

Dee looked around warily, "Perhaps," he said, "We should continue this somewhere a little more private?"

Shepard nodded, "We should head to our embassy, and the ambassador will probably want to speak with you."

As they started to move she heard Dee muttering to himself.

"Do I really have to speak to a politician?"

She gave a laugh at her friend's discomfort.

* * *

**AN**

Okay so maybe I couldn't wait for the full week to get this one out. But then again I probably shouldn't count the prologue as a full chapter.

This chapter deals with some off the questions that I always had about the first game namely how Tali actually got the geth data and how she was injured. It always nagged me how they never full explained that in game. The dialogue was changed somewhat for the meeting between with Shepard for some fairly obvious reasons.

Originally I was just going to put Dee on a catwalk for his sniper position but I think I'll have more fun with him sniping from inside the ventilation duct especially in the next chapter.

It may seem like Dee is taking his amnesia a little too well but that is mostly because he can't remember some things (I'll elaborate more in the next chapter). A few references to some in game stuff were thrown in for the fun of it (a cookie to the ones who can name them as well as the references from the prologue).

Please be sure to leave a review if you liked it and as always constructive criticism is most appreciated. I'll see how quickly I can get out the next chapter.


	3. Chapter TwoPoliticians

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. If you believe otherwise then there is a bridge I'd like to talk to you about.

As usual AN at the end of the chapter.

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Radio Conversations/Disembodied Voices"_

Chapter Two- Politicians

* * *

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko liked to think he had a firm grasp on his temper. His time at Brain Camp at Jump Zero as well as a few punitive details during boot had taught him the cost of losing one's cool. A marine losing their temper was bad enough but a biotic marine was more than capable of doing some damage…

"You're not making my life any easier Shepard."

And right now Donnel Udina was a _very_ tempting target for a singularity. The ambassador's back was to them as they entered the embassy, his tone was that of a disappointed parent attempting to scold a child. A quick glance at Shepard told him that the Commander was not impressed with the Ambassador's posturing. Shaking his head Udina turned to face them.

"Firefights in the Wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den? Do you enjoying causing me problems or…" the ambassador trailed off as he caught sight of Tali and Dee. The ambassador frowned before turning to Shepard, "A Quarian and a colonist? What are you playing at Shepard?"

"Making your day ambassador," with one hand the commander gestured to the two before continuing, "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and Dee'Tasi, they have some information I think you'll appreciate."

The ambassador frowned before speaking, "I'm sure they do commander. But I'll admit that I'm a little curious as to why a Quarian is this far from the Flotilla, and in the company of a human as well."

Even through the tinted visor of her envirosuit Kaiden could see the girl glaring at Udina.

"My name is Tali," she began hotly before calming down and continuing, "I'm on my Pilgrimage, my Rite of Passage into adulthood," she clarified at seeing the questioning look on the Commander's face, "during my travels I received word that the Geth had been seen beyond the Perseus Veil. As my people originally created the Geth I was naturally curious." She then motioned towards Dee who began to fiddle with his omni tool, "I met Dee while I was following a Geth patrol and he helped me pick off a straggler and do a data rip of its memory core."

At this point Captain Anderson interjected, "I thought the Geth wiped their memory cores as some sort of failsafe to prevent that from happening."

Dee looked up from his work and spoke up, "They do but it takes a few seconds for it to happen since the failsafe is independent from the Geth's higher functions." Dee then seemed to realize that all attention was on him. Nervously he adjusted his glasses before continuing, "If you can take one unaware and work quickly enough then with a little luck you can snatch parts of the core before it's lost."

With one final adjustment he held out his omni tool and an image of a familiar Turian Spectre sprang up from it. The image was awash with holographic static for a moment before clearing up and the audio began.

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to the Conduit."

"That's Saren alright," Anderson said triumphantly as Dee halted the playback, "This proves that he was involved in the attack."

Tali held up a hand to forestall further comment, "Wait, he wasn't working alone," she then nodded at Dee who resumed the playback. On the display another figure walked to Saren's side before speaking.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

Udina shook his head as the image dissolved into static before disappearing, "The Council could argue that both the audio and the video were doctored."

Dee shook his head before speaking up, "They can argue about the audio and visual all they want but that wasn't all the Geth recorded."

Anderson looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Dee tapped a few keys on the omni tool to display what looked like bio scanner readings.

"The Geth have a standard scanner suite installed on all of the mobile units," he explained as he cycled through a series of displays, "and one of the things that they were good enough to record was a sample of the pheromones that were present at the recording." The omni tool shut down as he pulled a small OSD out of the wrist unit and held it out for Udina. "Audio and video may be easy to fake but it takes time to falsify biometric scanner readings, time that we haven't had yet."

Kaidan felt a grin form on his face.

They had the bastard!

His grin faltered as he saw Shepard had thoughtful look on his face.

"Reapers…" the Commander said seemingly to himself, "I feel like I've heard that name before…" before Kaidan could ask him what he meant Dee spoke up again.

"According to the Geth the Reapers, or Old Machines as they call them, were a race of highly advanced synthetics that played a part in the disappearance of the Protheans 50,000 years ago." Dee faltered as everyone's attention was once again focused on him. Blushing he continued, "the ah…the information isn't very clear but apparently about the same time that the Protheans went extinct the Old Machines disappeared and the Mass Relays went quiet…n-nothing else is very clear."

Udina let off a derisive snort, "That's a little farfetched don't you think?"

Shepard shook his head, "The vision on Eden Prime… The synthetics I saw must have been these Reapers, or Old Machines, killing off the Protheans!"

It was Udina's turn to shake his head, "The Council is going to love this," he muttered.

"We have to tell them," Anderson moved to stand in front of Udina before continuing, "and even if they don't believe us about the Reapers that data prove that Saren is a traitor."

Udina gave an exasperated sigh, "Very well I'll contact the Council so we can present the evidence," as he activated his desk terminal he gave a sidelong glance at Tali and Dee, "what about those two?"

In a flash of movement Tali was standing in front of Shepard with a pleading tone in her voice, "You saw us in the alley Shepard you know what we can do!"

Shepard gave them both a look before speaking, "What about your Pilgrimage Tali?"

"Our Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?"

Shepard turned to Dee, "What about you?"

Dee gave a shrug, "Where Tali goes I go," he said quietly before smiling, "besides you are all important."

Shepard gave him a look before turning to Anderson, "We could use their help sir."

Before Anderson could answer Udina interrupted them, "The Council is prepared to meet with us Anderson," he held up a hand as the rest of the squad stood up, "This time it will be a closed meeting, Anderson, Shepard, and myself will be the only ones attending."

As the three made their way out the door Udina turned to give them one last look.

"All of you stay here the last thing I need is you blowing up another bar or something."

Wrex gave a snort as the door closed behind the retreating politician.

"Spoilsport."

Kaidan gave him an incredulous look before speaking.

"Didn't we just shoot up Chora's Den not more than an hour ago?"

Wrex gave him a wry grin before answering, "That was with guns Alenko not explosives," his grin became feral, "explosives are more fun."

From his position by the balcony Garrus gave a chuckle before turning to Dee.

"So I have to ask," he started in a nonchalant tone before grinning.

"…Vas Rust Bucket?"

Dee gave a laugh before explaining.

"Honorary Quarian remember? The courier shuttle we were using before didn't really have a name so I started to call it The Rust Bucket and the name kind of stuck."

Dee then made his way over to the Ambassadors terminal and began to punch in commands as he continued.

"Although if Anderson agrees to take me along I may have to change it to Vas Normandy…"

At that Kaidan gave a start.

"When did we tell you the name of our ship?"

Dee paused for a moment before speaking, "You didn't Lieutenant Alenko," he then turned to face them fully, "I already knew the name."

Out of the corner of his eye Kaidan saw Ashley tense up.

"How do you know that name," he asked.

Dee shrugged, "I just know it. I know a lot of things that I shouldn't." He continued to work on the terminal as he spoke, "It probably makes up for the fact that I can't remember anything else."

This time Tali spoke up, "He means he cannot remember anything personal about himself," she shook her head sadly, "his name, his family, his home world it's all blank to him. In its place is information that nobody else seems to have."

She then turned to speak to him, "I'm guessing that information on the Reapers was part of it right?"

Dee nodded absently as he continued to type at the terminal.

Kaidan studied him for a moment before speaking, "The captain will need to speak to you this when he is finished with the council."

As Dee nodded again Garrus spoke up, "What are you doing with that terminal anyways?"

Dee hesitated for a moment before finishing the last command and studying the results. Satisfied with them he turned to face the rest of the group.

"Well the truth is that I was looking for something to watch and thought you might be interested in the subject matter."

With a flourish Dee activated the screen to reveal something that Kaidan was not expecting.

On the screen was the security feed for the Council's private meeting chambers, and in them Udina, Anderson, and Shepard were taking their seats in front of the Council.

* * *

**AN:** Another chapter up. Sorry it's so short.

One thing that had bothered me in the game was how easily the Council accepted a simple audio recording as definitive proof of treason.

The name Meer Wards actually comes from Mark Meer, the voice actor for the Male Shepard.

On my profile is a link for a picture of the gun that I based Dee's and Tali's Thanatos pistols off of.

A quick thank you to everyone who reviewed they are most appreciated.

Next chapter is the council's 'private' meeting with Shepard as well as a brief interrogation of Dee by Captain Anderson.

See you Next time

Read and Review


	4. Chapter Three Departure

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect and anyone who says differently is a liar. Unless Bioware says it in which case who am I to argue.

Chapter Three- Departure

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Radio Conversations/Disembodied Voices"_

* * *

"You wanted proof? There it is."

As Shepard listened to Udina he barely suppressed the urge to groan. The man had just finished delivering the evidence that they had received from Tali and Dee and from the looks on the councilor's faces it had the desired effect.

'_I just wish he didn't sound so damned smug about it,'_ he thought, _'there's no need to antagonize them with that I-Told-You-So crap.'_

The Turian councilor gave the ambassador a nod, his face a mask of tightly held anger, "The evidence is irrefutable ambassador, Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

Shepard was taken aback at the anger in the councilor's voice until he remembered the briefing he had received on Turian culture back in OCS.

'_That's right, Turians believe in owning up to their actions regardless of the situation. The fact that Saren lied to him, another Turian, makes it a worse crime then treason.'_

"I recognize that second voice," said the Asari Councilor as she gave the Turian a sidelong glance, "Matriarch Benezia."

"Matriarchs are the eldest of your people aren't they?" Anderson asked curiously, "If I remember correctly it is the final stage of your people's life cycle."

The Asari nodded as she favored the Captain with a small smile, "That is correct Captain. The Matriarchs are revered for their wisdom and we often turn to them for guidance," she frowned before continuing, "Matriarch Benezia is a particularly powerful biotic in addition to her age and experience, if she is working with Saren then he has a powerful ally."

"I'm curious about these 'Reapers' that were mentioned," The Salarian councilor said, "Do you have any information on them?"

Anderson shook his head, "Only what was recovered from the memory core and collaborated by Dee'Tasi. What we do know is that the Reapers were a group of highly advanced synthetics that were involved in the disappearance of the Protheans 50,000 years ago before they themselves disappeared around the time that the Relays went inactive."

Anderson activated his omni tool and uploaded a file to each of the Councilors.

"These are Dee'Tasi's notes on the data he recovered from the memory core, apparently the Geth view the Reapers, or Old Machines as they call them, as the pinnacle of synthetic existence and revere them with almost a religious fervor. His speculation is that there was a war between the two which resulted in near or total extinction of the Protheans. Because the Protheans were the only advanced race at the time it is possible that these Reapers saw no reason to remain and withdrew from this area. This would be similar to how the Geth withdrew behind the Veil after they forced the Quarians from their homeworld."

The council contemplated this for a few moments before the Turian councilor addressed him surprisingly, "What about this Conduit Commander? Do you believe that it has something to do with why the Geth have allied themselves with Saren?"

'_Why ask me?'_ he asked silently before speaking, "I'm not sure what the Conduit may be Councilor but it is possible that Saren is using the promise of the return of their 'gods' as a means to manipulate the Geth."

At this the Turian Councilor shook his head irritably, "But to what end Commander? The return of their Gods? Machines that wiped out the Protheans? Apart from this data do you have any tangible proof that they actually exist?"

At the councilor's tone Shepard felt himself bristle before answering in a clipped tone he reserved for most Officers, "Respectfully councilor you said something similar when I tried to warn you about Saren and I was right about him."

Before the Turian could speak the Asari councilor spoke up, "That was different Commander. Saren is a visible threat to Galactic Stability. These Reapers appear to be nothing more than a myth that Saren is using to control the Geth to his own end."

Having calmed himself the Turian councilor added, "And now that he has been stripped of his Spectre status he is on the run without the resources of the Citadel to help him."

"That is not good enough!" Udina interrupted, "You know he is in the Traverse, send your fleet in after him."

"A fleet cannot track one man Ambassador," the Salarian Councilor said patiently as though hoping the ambassador would understand the logic.

Unfortunately he did not.

"The fleet could secure the entire region!" Udina said his voice continuing to rise, "It could prevent the Geth from attacking anymore of our colonies."

Shepard stared at the ambassador incredulously.

'_Send their entire fleet into a region that is contested by a hostile power?' _

The Turian councilor voiced these thoughts, "Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems. We will not be dragged into a Galactic conflict over the safety of a few human colonies."

At this Udina became red faced and exploded, "I am tired of this anti-human BULL-"

He was cut off with a glare by the Asari, "Ambassador that is enough," she composed herself before continuing, "Besides there may be another option." She purposefully glanced at the Turian Councilor who gave a start.

"What? No, it is too soon. We agreed to evaluate him for admission to the Spectres we have no idea of his competency."

At this Shepard felt his jaw drop. How did they go from exposing Saren as a traitor lead to his admission into the Spectres?

"And yet," the Salarian interjected, "He was able to expose Saren for the traitor that he was without aid from us. The fact that we were not able to discern this should speak of his skills."

The Turian councilor hesitated before nodding reluctantly. The Asari Councilor turned to the Humans before speaking.

"Gentlemen if you will join us in the Tower's Main Chamber. It is tradition that induction into the Spectres be done there as a matter of public record."

As the Commander followed Captain Anderson from the room he remembered what Dee had said to him back at the embassy.

_You are all important._

He wondered just what else the dark haired youth knew.

* * *

The induction ceremony had been a short affair but one that filled him with a sense of trepidation. The phrases 'any means necessary' and 'instrument of our will' left a sour taste in his mouth as he realized just how much power he had been give. Captain Anderson's story of how he almost been made a Spectre didn't help much either.

'_I could level a colony to complete a mission and get away with it if I tell them it was necessary._' He thought worriedly,_ 'as they say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? What kind of monster could I become if I am not careful?'_

"Commander Shepard?" he looked up to see the Salarian Councilor approaching him. He hesitantly saluted the councilor unsure of the protocol involved. _'I am in over my head,_' he thought before speaking, "Councilor I-"

The Salarian councilor waved him off with a wide smile.

"There is no need to stand on ceremony Commander. I merely wanted to speak to you before you left the tower."

Shepard slowly released his salute but still felt uneasy. "Is there a problem councilor?" he asked warily the last thing he needed was to be in trouble with his new bosses not five minutes after becoming a Spectre.

The Salarian shook his head, "No trouble Commander, I merely wanted to speak with you about a few things before you left. Clear the air as you humans say. And please," he added with another grin, "call me Armin (1)."

Shepard nodded for the Salarian to continue.

"I thought you should know that Valern, the Turian Councilor, does not bear you any ill will."

Shepard snorted, "You could have fooled me sir."

Armin nodded in agreement, "I agree his attitude was somewhat abrasive but that is to be expected with recent events." The councilor gestured and the two began to walk towards the end of the council chamber and the elevators. As they walked he continued to speak, "You probably did not realize it Commander but Valern was the one that suggested a Human Spectre to the rest of us, at Nihlus's recommendation."

Shepard gave the Salarian a questioning look, "If that's true then why did he protest my admission into the Spectres?"

As they stood in front of the elevators Armin gave him a long look, "Tell me Commander," he began slowly, "If Eden Prime hadn't happened what do you think would have been next for you."

Shepard shrugged, "Nihlus had mentioned that it was supposed to be the first of many missions for the two of us he didn't elaborate beyond that."

Armin nodded, "Indeed, in fact over the next six months you would have unofficially left the Alliance Military to work with Nihlus as an apprentice of sorts." The elevator door then opened and the Councilor gestured for Shepard to board the lift. As the doors closed he continued, "The purpose of this apprenticeship is for you to develop your own contacts throughout Citadel Space as well as to distance yourself from any conditioning that would have you favoring one species over another."

Shepard nodded as he began to understand what the Salarian was getting at, "Instead I'm being made a Spectre with no contacts and still ingrained in the Alliance Military mindset. He is afraid that the first human Spectre is going an anti alien bigot who is going to blunder into a bad situation and cause a war. Does that about cover it?"

The councilor gave a chuckle, "Yes that about covers it but I do not agree with his conclusion." The councilor gave him an even look before speaking again.

"The fact is that I have seen your records and have come to my own conclusions."

"First is the fact that you have been raised in space your entire life, and a good number of the stations that you lived on had a mixed species population, as such you have not developed any overt anti alien sentiment that is common from Earthborn humans or some of the older Colonies. This is evident by your willingness to work with not only Garrus Vakarian, a turian which some of your species has a problem with, but also the Krogan Urdnot Wrex."

Shepard gave a start, _'How does he know about that?'_ he wondered. His wonder continued as the Councilor continued.

"Next is the incident on Akuze," at the name Shepard gave a wince and his hand went his side where the old scarring of an acid burn was covered by his armor, despite his flinch the Councilor continued in a sympathetic tone, "lesser men would have broken under the strain of what happened but you managed to survive. And despite the danger and the injuries you received you managed to recover the dog tags of many of your fallen comrades."

Shepard licked his lips before speaking, "I had to give their families some peace, I owed them that much."

"Your dedication to your squad was part of what caught Valern's eye as was the attack during your convalescence on Elysium."

Shepard nodded absently as he remembered the events of the Skyllian Blitz. He remembered rushing out of the medical center and gathering locals to counter the Batarians. He remembered using guerilla tactics in an attempt to hold the Invaders and to prevent them from reaching the residential district before the Alliance arrived. He gave a wry chuckle as he remembered a report that he had read after the attack, "I understand that the Batarians were preparing to bomb my location from orbit when the Fleet arrived."

Armin nodded, "Yes I saw that, the fact is Commander that you have shown a strong sense of survival, dedication to duty and honor, as well as bravery in the face of adversity all qualities that are desired for Spectres. The only thing you lack is experience and unfortunately you will have to undergo 'on the job training' as you humans say."

Shepard nodded absently as a thought occurred to him, "Armin about what Udina said about sending the fleet to secure our colonies."

The Salarian councilor shook his head, "Honestly I don't understand what your ambassador was thinking did he really expect us to leave the rest of Citadel Space unprotected? It is not that we don't value Humanity's contributions to the galaxy Commander, but you must realize that there are limits."

Shepard nodded patiently, "I understand but what about a smaller group of ships?"

Armin eyed him curiously, "What do you mean?"

He took a breath before speaking, "A fleet maybe unrealistic but a small task force to help with Alliance patrols would help relieve the burden on our fleet as well as go a long way to quell the groups preaching about the anti human policies of the Council."

The councilor nodded thoughtfully, "Yes that could work… Perhaps a task force of some frigates and carriers backed by a cruiser would be feasible. I would have to speak with the others but it may be possible Commander."

As the elevator neared the Presidium Shepard turned to the Councilor, "I am curious what brought about this conversation Councilor."

"You humans have begun to catch my attention recently Commander," Armin said simply, "Between you and Dee'Tasi have found myself very interested in your people."

That surprised Shepard.

"Dee? What did he do?"

"He defused a situation between a member of the Turian military and a very influential Asari before it became to public. When Septimus asked why he helped them he mentioned that it was important."

Shepard frowned in confusion, "Important?"

"Yes apparently he didn't know what he meant either."

As the doors opened the Councilor nodded before leaving the Commander to his thoughts. He looked up after a few minutes to see Alenko and Williams approaching. He nodded in way of greeting before speaking.

"Where is everyone else?" It was Kaidan that answered him. "The Captain had them go to the _Normandy_ we were supposed to come and let you know that they moved her to the docks over by C-Sec headquarters to be resupplied."

As they started towards the Wards Kaidan spoke up again.

"Commander I need to speak with you about Dee'Tasi…"

* * *

As they arrived at the _Normandy's_ hangar they caught sight of heavily laden cargo sled entering the ship's cargo bay. As they watched the sled disappear into the ship Shepard caught sight of an unfamiliar logo on the side of the containers.

'_I recognize Hahne-Kedar Shadow Works but what was that other one?'_

As they made their way to the airlock they caught sight of a group standing in front of the docking arm. Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson noticed him and were making their way towards him and beyond them he saw Dee speaking with a uniformed Salarian. Shepard recognized the patch on the Salarians uniform as he got closer.

'_The Special Tasks Group? What's the STG doing here?'_

As the Captain approached the three saluted, after a moment he sketched a quick salute before nodding to them.

"At ease you three, Commander we need to speak to you alone for a moment."

Taking the hint Ashley and Alenko made their way onto the ship leaving Shepard alone with Udina and Anderson. After a moment Udina spoke up.

"I have big news for you Shepard. Captain Anderson has stepped down as Commanding Officer of the _Normandy_. The ship is now yours."

'_What?'_ He turned to Anderson, "What is he talking about Captain."

Anderson nodded before speaking, "She's quick, quiet, and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre and I know you'll treat her right." Despite the matter of fact nature of the statement Shepard caught a glimpse of sadness in his CO's eyes. He shook his head, this wasn't right.

"But she is your ship Captain." Before he could say anymore Anderson cut him off with a slow shake of his head.

"Not anymore she's not. Udina is right I need to step aside for this one. And as a Spectre you need to be in charge of this mission. And you'll need the _Normandy_ if you want to catch Saren."

Shepard nodded reluctantly, "If you say so Captain. Where do we go from here?"

"Saren's gone… Before he disappeared he wiped his records clean. C-Sec wasn't able to get anything from the Council's Records and Saren hasn't been on the Citadel in almost a year," Anderson shook his head before continuing, "But that doesn't matter. Saren's gone and trying to pick up his trail will only waste time. Fortunately we know what he's looking for."

Shepard nodded, "The Conduit."

"Exactly, Saren probably already has the Geth scouring the Traverse looking for it but we have had only scattered sightings of them so far, nothing certain."

Udina cleared his throat, "We do have one lead however, Matriarch Benezia. She has a daughter, a Dr. Liara T'soni. She specializes in Protheans and last reports had her investigating ruins in the Artemis Tau Cluster."

Shepard nodded slowly, "I guess if nothing else we'll start there then."

Anderson nodded, "Of course, as a Spectre you don't answer to us anymore it's your choice on how to proceed."

"But," Udina said quickly while giving Anderson a glare, "You will remember that your actions reflect on the rest of us. If you start an incident I am the one who has to clean up after you."

"I'll try not cause you too much trouble ambassador but I will do what I have to if it I am going to stop Saren. I make no promises."

Udina grimaced, "Not the answer I was looking for but I'll take it. Just remember Shepard you were a Human long before you were a Spectre," he glanced at his chronometer, "I have a meeting to attend to, Captain Anderson will answer any questions you may have." And with that he left the two alone.

Anderson made his way to the railing and after a moment of hesitation Shepard joined him. After a few moments of silence Anderson nodded to the cargo sleds beneath the _Normandy_.

"They arrived about a half hour ago. Combat armor from the HK Shadow Works and weapons from Spectre's Master Gear stock. Replaced the standard issue stuff we had in the armory."

Shepard let out a low whistle. Hahne-Kedar Shadow Works was well known for their armor. Tough and reliable and as Jenkins had once put it famous for 'keeping your squishy stuff on the inside where it belongs', but the Spectre's Master Gear was rumored to have some of the most lethal weapons available in Citadel Space.

"How did that happen?"

Anderson nodded towards Dee who was accepting an OSD from the STG captain.

"A Turian general named Septimus pulled some strings and had it pulled for us. Said he owed Dee a favor and that he wanted to see what a Human Spectre could do when given some real teeth. Captain Kirrahe there arrived just before you did with everything they had on Matriarch Benezia's activities for the last few months."

He gave Shepard a look, "He said that Councilor Armin insisted on doing everything they could to support us."

"Is Captain Kirrahe joining the _Normandy_?" Shepard asked, "It might be helpful to have an STG operative on board."

Anderson shook his head, "The Captain will be departing soon on a mission of his own shortly. Besides anymore aliens join the crew and I think that Udina will have a stroke."

Shepard chuckled at the thought before watching Dee'Tasi board the _Normandy_.

"Did Kaidan tell you about Dee?" he asked in a mild tone. In truth he found the story of the young man's apparent visions slightly disconcerting. Anderson nodded, "Yes and I am a little curious. But in truth what he did know wasn't exactly confidential. He knew her name and what she looked like but nothing technical or sensitive in nature. I vouched for him to Udina along with the rest of the new comers but I left out the details."

Anderson's face grew serious for a second as he straightened.

"I also asked Alenko to keep an eye on him for anything odd." Anderson shook his head before looking at the underside of the ship. "Looks like they're just about finished with the resupply, you should get going Commander."

Shepard looked at his CO for a moment before speaking.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this sir."

Anderson smiled as he clapped a hand on the Commander's shoulder.

"Me too John, but we don't always get want we wish for unfortunately."

The Commander nodded before saluting, the Captain smiled before returning the Salute.

"Take good care of them Commander and Godspeed."

With that the Captain turned and left Shepard alone, after a moment the human Spectre turned and boarded the _Normandy_.

* * *

A few minutes later, after stowing his armor and donning a set of Alliance Blues, the Commander made his way to the cockpit. As he arrived the pilot, Jeff "Joker" Moreau, turned and nodded to him before returning to his checklist.

"Hard to believe isn't it sir?" the pilot said, "Captain Anderson survives hundreds of battles only to get taken out in back room politics," he gave a shudder before looking at Shepard, "Just watch your back sir, things go badly on this mission then your next on their chopping block."

Shepard shook his head before voicing his unease, "It just doesn't feel right, the Captain should be here, I feel like I've stolen his command from him."

Joker shook his head before defending his CO, "That's not true Commander and no one on this ship thinks that. Sure the Captain got screwed and, it sucks, but there was nothing you could have done. Besides it's like the Captain said you're a Spectre now and you need your own ship. The crew is behind you a hundred percent."

Joker punched a few keys on his console before turning to Shepard.

"Intercoms open if you want to say anything to the crew."

Shepard nodded before leaning forward. _'They deserve the truth'_ he thought as he began to speak.

"This is Commander Shepard speaking," he said clearly vaguely aware of the activity back in the CIC coming to a halt, "Captain Anderson has stepped down as Commanding Officer and, with his blessing; I am taking command of the _Normandy_. We have new orders: Find Saren and bring him to justice. He's a rogue Spectre and has an army of Geth under his command so he will not go down without a fight. And by now he will know we're coming."

He paused for a moment to let it sink in and to order his own thoughts. After a few moments he continued.

"I won't lie to you crew, this will not be easy. The Council can't risk getting involved in this without starting a war that will do more harm than good, so it falls to us to do this. This started when he attacked a human settlement but we know that he will not stop there. He and his Geth will not remain on the fringes of Citadel Space forever."

"For too long our species has stood apart from the others. It's time for humanity to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy. The Council is giving us what support they can and they are placing their trust in us to stop him. We will show them that trust is not misplaced, we will show them what humans are made of."

"Saren has disappeared into the Traverse but hiding won't help him. He spilled innocent blood on Eden Prime and that has sealed his fate. He won't be able hide forever nor will he be able to run fast enough to escape us. We will pursue him to very edge of the galaxy and we **will** bring him down."

Shepard took a breath to steady himself before continuing.

"This is something that Humanity must do. Not just for our sake but for the sake of all species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped before anymore planets suffer. And I promise you crew we will stop him."

"That is all."

As the intercom closed Joker gave him a supportive nod.

"Well said Commander," he said with a smile, "The Captain would be proud."

"I hope so Joker," Shepard said with a sigh, "He gave up everything to give us this chance. We cannot afford to fail."

Joker gave him an emphatic nod, "Right Commander, what are your orders?"

"Disengage the docking clamps and take us out and make your way to the Artemis Tau cluster at you best speed."

"Aye aye Commander."

* * *

"_That was an impressive speech."_

"_**Yes but all it really did was get them riled up. It will still be another four days before we even arrive at the Artemis Tau Cluster and even then we are not sure of where to go. They are going to be restless the entire time."**_

"That's why I am looking through the STG data to figure out where our little lost Asari would be…"

"Did you say something Dee?" Kaidan asked him. The dark haired youth shook his head before holding up his omni tool.

"Just talking to myself while I try and figure out where Dr. T'soni is, Lieutenant."

Kaidan gave him a slow nod, "Be sure to let the Commander know as soon as you find anything alright."

Dee gave him as grin before nodding, "Will do," and returned to his work. After a moment Alenko turned and headed out of the mess hall.

"_**He suspects something."**_

"_Of course he does, he would have to be stupid not to."_

"_**Seeing the boss talk to himself probably doesn't help matters either."**_

Dee smiled as lines of code ran across the lenses of his glasses.

"Hush you two," he murmured softly, "I'm trying to think."

(1)The voice actor for the Salarian Councilor is Armin Shimerman

AN: Dun Dun DUN. Betcha that one threw you all for a loop. Had to go back through my old saves of Mass Effect 1 to get the speech and even then I decided to paraphrase some of it to match the changes I'm making in the universe. So how will Shepard do with a Council that is not completely suspicious of him.

To clarify pretty much all of the side quests aside from the one involving Conrad Verner have been dealt with by Dee.

A quick thank you to those that have review they are always appreciated.

Next chapter maybe delayed a few days as it is approaching the end of the term for me and with that comes the evil exams. I'll try and keep the chapter length consistent from now own but we'll see.

Next Chapter: Therum, Geth, Off roading in military vehicles, motion sickness, and why Garrus is not allowed to drive anything. Ever.

Read and Review


	5. Chapter Four Therum Pt 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect.

Chapter Four- Therum Pt.1

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Radio Conversations/Disembodied Voices"_

**  
Two Weeks Later**

_**Normandy CIC**_

FTL travel.

Faster than light.

Prior to the discovery of the Prothean Data Cache on Mars, Humanity had long strived to overcome that particular barrier. It was not that it was all that difficult to reach a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second especially in the zero resistance environment of total vacuum. It was just that nasty little detail of time dilation at relativistic speeds that ruined everything for the geeks of the early Twenty First century.

Damn you Albert Einstein.

The discovery of the data cache and, as a result, Element Zero and the Mass Effect was a welcome discovery for scientists who had romanticized space travel. Element Zero, with its ability to warp both space _and _time, had allowed those early pioneers to overcome that little snag of arriving at their destination several hundred years after they were supposed to. Now local FTL trips, between systems of a cluster, could be completed in a matter of days, much to the joy of the romantics.

Shepard repressed a tired sigh as he watch the indicator showing the position of the _Normandy_ slowly made its way across the Galaxy Map.

_'Space travel was never this boring in the old vids,'_ Shepard thought glumly as tapped his fingers on the console. A message opened in the corner of the display showing that the rest of the command crew was ready for him. Eager for a break in the monotony he gestured for a nearby crewmen to take his place on the watch as backed away from the display.

As he made his way to his destination he shook his head ruefully.

'_Maybe I was a little hasty in giving that speech when we shipped out.'_

It had taken them four days to reach the Artemis Tau cluster after leaving the Citadel. The cluster had little of value aside from four systems that had not formally been explored by the Citadel aside from the placement of Nav Buoys. The four systems: Macedon, Sparta, Knossos, and Athens; were relatively unknown to the Systems Alliance but the Citadel had them marked as potential resource planets for investigation by several independent sources.

'_But right now,'_ he thought glumly, '_they are appearing to be nothing more than dead ends in our investigation.'_

It had taken the _Normandy_ four days to make the trip to the Artemis Tau Cluster and morale had been high the entire time. By the time ship had arrived at the relay in the Macedon system the crew had been prepared for a pitched battle with an entire Geth armada. While arriving to find nothing lying in wait had not dampened the mood any, the subsequent search throughout the system had brought eagerness back down quickly.

Shepard nodded absently as a serviceman saluted him as he passed through the pressure door to the lower deck. As he made his way down the stairs he thought back to how the excitement had quickly made its way back to boring routine as they had began to scan the system for their wayward Asari.

Four days.

They had spent four days scanning the Macedon System planet by planet trying to find Dr. T'Soni. Half of that had been spent scanning that damned asteroid field. They probably would have spent even longer if Pressly had hit on the idea of simply hacking the Nav Buoy to find out the necessary information.

After linking with the Nav Buoy they had found that while an Asari scout ship matching the one on loan to Dr. T'Soni had arrived in system two months prior but had immediately left the system. With no real idea of which of the three remaining systems were their target Shepard had directed the Normandy to the Sparta system. After three days of FTL travel and five minutes of work on the Nav Buoy for that system they had come up dry again.

_'Hopefully we find something of interest this time'_ he thought glumly as he arrived at his quarters. With a tone the doors opened to reveal the Normandy command staff clustered around his desk. As he entered they rose to their feet but he gestured them back to their seats.

"At ease everyone," he told them in a mild tone as he took a seat behind the desk facing them, "I think we can forgo some of the formalities for now."

As the rest of the staff settled he continued, "If everyone is ready let's start off the next part of our lovely little tour of the Artemis Tau Cluster, Pressly?"

With a nod the XO cleared his throat and began.

"As you know we have almost arrived at the Knossos system. Data entry we have on it says that it has five planets and two asteroid fields. There was a side note about a mining operation on one of the planets but I didn't go to far into it. Initial scans show a Nav Buoy close to where we'll enter the system so we won't have to hunt for it."

With a nod Shepard turned to the Chief Engineer. Adams gave a brief glance at the report in his hand before speaking.

"No problems on our end Commander. Helium-3 tanks are still pretty full, the Drive Core is stable, and our emissions are well below the design specs. Tali and Dee have been hanging out in Engineering Section a lot lately..."

Shepard leaned forward at that. _'This is the first I've heard of this,'_ he thought before interrupting Adams' report. "Have they been causing any problems? I can have them leave you alone if need be."

Adams blinked a few times before shaking his head emphatically. "No Commander nothing like that, Tali seems to know more about engine maintenance then half my crew combined and Dee is not that far behind her."

Shepard nodded, "Alright then Adams, but while we're on the subject let's talk about our new crew members," with one hand he motioned to them to speak up, "how are they integrating with the ship? Have there been any problems?"

After a moment's hesitation Alenko spoke up, "No problems with the Marine detail Sir, in fact the squad has been helping them acclimate to the ship."

That piqued Shepard's curiosity, he had half expected some sort of incident by now.

"How so?" he asked the Lieutenant.

"I've detailed some of them to work with the newcomers, Wrex is working with Chief Reynolds in the armory he is… ah… _improving_ some of the weapons with some tricks that he's picked up. Garrus is working with Private Crespin on fire control and even helps work on the Mako, apparently he was fire control officer during his stint in the Turian Military. Dee and Tali having been helping out in engineering obviously but I have also had Private Reese working with the two of them on weapons training."

As Kaidan finished his report Shepard nodded approvingly, "Good thinking Kaidan, they may not be Alliance trained, but they can probably contribute to the routine," with one hand he gestured to Dr. Chakwas, "Did their physicals go alright? Are there any health concerns we should be aware of?"

The doctor nodded before she gave her report, "It took a while to complete all of their physicals but they all did splendidly. There are a few concerns that I believe you should be aware of however."

The doctor activated her omni tool and after a few moments forwarded her report to the rest of the command staff. As they read the report she continued her explanation, "The most important concern I have is for Garrus and Tali. Both the Turian and the Quarian species have a vastly different biology than the rest of the galactic community. Most species possess a levo-protein based genetic structure but they have a dextro-protein based physiology."

Shepard frowned as he listened to the doctor and after a moment he interjected, "What does that mean exactly doctor?"

"They cannot consume our food for one, the least that could happen is the material will pass through their systems and they would receive no nutrition."

Kaidan shifted uneasily before asking, "What's the worst thing that could happen?"

The doctor gave them a level look before speaking, "The worst that could happen is their body would have an allergic reaction to the material, they would then go into anaphylactic shock and they would die."

Shepard gave a small shudder at the thought, _'one mistake and both of them could…'_ he shook his head as he cut off that train of thought and turned to Pressly, "Make sure that the Mess Hall knows to double check the food stuffs to make sure there are no mistakes."

The XO gave him a nod, his own face a mask of contemplation.

Shepard turned back to the doctor, "What about Tali? It's my understanding that Quarians have weak immune systems."

The doctor shook her head as she began to speak, "That's putting it mildly Shepard, I had to conduct her physical in the airlock while wearing an EVA suit myself. After 300 years of living on ships her people have almost no immune system to speak of and the mildest of fevers for us can mean death for her."

Kaidan had an almost pitying look on his face as spoke up, "So she can't remove that suit of hers without dying doctor?" Dr. Chakwas nodded as she answered him, "I haven't been able to get too much information on her physiology Kaidan but that is the whole of it," she turned to Shepard, "Commander I recommend that if you take Tali with you at any point in time that you take several doses of antibiotics in case she does have a suit breach."

"Noted," Shepard said curtly trying to quell the uneasy feeling he had about taking the young woman on any missions, "What about Wrex? Any problems we should know of there?"

Dr. Chakwas gave a small laugh before smiling at the commander, "You really don't know much about the Krogans do you Commander?" at his confused look she elaborated, "Krogans are survivors Commander. Their physical structure resembles some dreadnaught designs that I have seen. They possess numerous redundancies, tertiary and even quaternary organs, cellular regeneration, a redundant nervous system; their skin even resembles low grade body armor."

Adams gave a low whistle, "It's like their body evolved to intimidate people," he said with a note of awe in his voice. Chakwas gave a smirk before speaking, "In more way than one Adams."

She turned to look at the men in the room, "Just so you all know that their term for hitting below the belt is 'hitting them in the _quad_." At the uncomfortable shifting her smirk grew for a moment before she continued, "Honestly commander I doubt that I will be seeing much of him in my infirmary for the duration of this mission."

Shepard gave a grin as he came to the last name on the doctor's report. "That leaves us with our mystery man," he said in a light tone, "What can you tell me about Dee doctor?"

Dr. Chakwas gave a snort as she straightened her posture and began, "Dee'Tasi vas Rust Bucket to be blunt Commander, is a pain in the neck." Shepard gave her a bewildered look as she continued, "It took me nearly a week to finally corner him and get him into my infirmary for a physical and the entire time he was ranting about oppression by evil doctors threatening him with needles."

Shepard opened the transcript attached to the report that detailed the young man's exact words. As he read he suppressed a laugh, and after seeing the glare the Medical Officer gave Pressly when he did laugh he was glad for it. As he finished he cleared his throat to try and draw the doctors icy glare away from his XO.

"Do you believe that he has some sort of mental condition or phobia that brought this about Doctor?" She gave a small huff before shaking her head, "I would like to say it is a severe mental condition but I believe it was more that he was doing it for a good laugh give the reaction the rest of the crew had when he tried to hide underneath the mess hall table when I caught up to him."

Shepard nodded slowly, _'little things like that could go a long way to helping with morale'_ he thought before grimacing, _'provided he doesn't drive the doctor into forgetting her oath to do no harm.'_

"Are there any other concerns?"

The doctor hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"There is one other thing with regards to Dee'Tasi," she began slowly, "I almost missed it at first but he seems to have a resistance to medigel."

Alenko turned to her with an incredulous look, "A _resistance_ to medigel? Isn't that more than a little unusual doctor?" Chakwas shook her head before explaining.

"Not as unusual as you may think Lieutenant," she began in a patient tone, "Remember that Medigel is an organic compound, and since its creation there have been some individuals that it is less effective for."

Shepard nodded as he understood what the Doctor was saying. Everyone's physiology was different even among members of the same species, and as such the medicines effects were slightly different from person to person.

"Is there going to be a problem with using medigel on him doctor?" he asked, his first thoughts to the well being of his crew member, "will he have some sort of allergic reaction if we use it on him?"

Chakwas shook her head, "There has never been a case _that_ extreme commander, I would estimate that a standard dose would be ten to fifteen percent less effective than normal, but nothing life threatening. Just something to keep in mind if he gets injured," her tone became dead panned, "Although if his ability to run away from me is any indicator I don't think he'll have any problems there."

Shepard, and the rest of the officers, gave a chuckle before a blinking light on his desk notified him that the bridge was attempting to contact him. He reached over and tapped the console to open the comm.

"Go ahead Joker."

"We're about fifteen minutes out from the Knossos system Commander. I've pinged a Nav Buoy on the edge of the system and we'll be in range of it shortly."

"When we are in range notify Dee and have him check the buoys logs for Dr. T'Soni."

"Understood Commander, although the next time you want to get a date instead of running around the cluster checking under every rock, why don't you sign up for an extranet dating service or something? I already have an account set up for you if want to try?"

Shepard shook his head at his pilots sense of humor before remembering something he had hear in the CIC the previous day. He eyed the rest of the command crew with a wry grin before speaking.

"I'll pass Joker but while we're on the subject of your hobbies let's talk about this betting pool I've been hearing about." Both Kaidan and Adams stiffened at the commander's words and Dr. Chakwas gained a small grin as looked at the two. On the intercom Joker was stuttering out an excuse.

"Betting pool Commander? What betting pool? I don't know about any betting pool."

"The betting pool," he began slowly as his grin widened, "Regarding a certain pair of new crew members that I may be willing to place a wager on."

"Oh THAT betting pool... I'm listening."

* * *

**Engineering**

On the engineering deck, Tali turned to look at her friend who had just finished sneezing.

"Are you sure you are alright," she asked with a touch of concern," That was an awful lot of sneezing on your part." Dee waved off her concern as he activated his omni tool and continued his work.

"Nah I'm fine," he said giving her an easy grin, "Probably means someone is talking about me is all."

Tali paused in her work before turning to look at him. "How does sneezing indicate someone is talking about you?" she asked in confusion. He looked up for a moment his grin still firmly in place, "It's a superstition from Earth," he said casually as he continued to tap at his interface, "If you begin sneezing for no apparent reason then it means that someone is talking about you."

Tali nodded slowly, "I see... We also have a saying when someone is sneezing for no apparent reason." Dee slowed his typing and gave her a curious look which she met with an unseen smile, "It usually means that some poor fool forgot to check his suit for ruptures and needs to go to the infirmary."

Dee gave a small chuckle as he leaned against the bulkhead opposite her station and resumed his work. Curious Tali paused the engine diagnostic she was running and turned towards him, "What are you working on?" she asked as she leaned back against her station. Dee shrugged as he answered, "Shepard heard about that scrambler that we used to sneak up on that Geth patrol and wanted me to try and make one that they could use."

Tali nodded as she remember the bulky device that the two of them had put together when they had trailed the Geth to that moon. She had been amazed at how quickly he had picked up on the tech that she was using and after a while had started helping her with the device. They had started talking about her while they worked, it was difficult to talk about an amnesiac after all, and after a while he had insisted on learning her language. He had explained that he couldn't always count on his omni tools translator to pick up the slack and she could understand his logic.

_'I just wish he had never chosen that name,'_ she though sadly. Eventually they had realized that the conversations would be very awkward if he remained nameless and they began to think of what he could go by until he remembered his name. Somehow he had stumbled on to the idea of going by the name Tasi, much to her horror, and seemed to take a small liking to it. When he decided to go by Dee'Tasi it had been an improvement but not by much.

_'He is not No-one. He is my friend. He will regain his memory and I will be glad to address him by his name.'_ she told herself not for the first time. She shook herself out of her depressing thoughts as she continued their conversation.

"Have you had any luck?"

Dee gave her a satisfied grin as he nodded, "Yes. Not quite man portable just yet but I think I can rig it into a vehicles Kinetic Barriers to give a reliable jamming signal." He shut off his omni tool and stretched, grimacing as his joints popped, and continued speaking, "Still working out the bugs though, anything gets within 50 meters will see right through it."

Tali nodded before a thought occurred to her, "Dee," she began curiously, "Why do you come down here to work?"

Dee tilted his head to the side as he contemplated his answer, after a moment he began to speak, "Well I guess I could do this work in any old part of the ship," he began slowly, "But the truth is I just find the sound of the engine kind of relaxing." She nodded understanding the comfort that the ships metaphorical heart beat gave to her. Dee glance around the engine room before a mischievous grin appeared on his face. With a slow gait he walked to lean against the console next to her, rubbing the side of his nose with one finger as he did.

"Besides Tali," he said in a low tone that carried further than their previous conversation, "I have another reason to spend my time in this particular room."

With a start Tali also glanced around the compartment and noticed what he had seen. Another one of the crewmen was standing a short ways off pretending to be busy. Tali felt a grin that matched Dee's spread across her face.

_'You would think they would have learned by now,'_ she thought. Carefully she leaned closer to Dee, making sure that her words would be heard by the crewmen.

"Why Dee," she began in a light tone, "What do you mean by that?"

Dee's face became intent and his voice took on a dramatic tone, "I cannot lie to you Tali, there is a reason that I always remain close to you, why I will always be there beside you,"

Out of the corner of her mask she saw three more crewmen stop what they were doing to listen to what they were saying, the first had abandoned any pretense of subtlety and was staring intently at them. She smothered a giggle before bringing one hand to her chest.

"Dee... Do you mean to say," she said in a breathless tone. The first crewmen was now leaning towards them intent on hearing what he had to say.

Dee nodded solemnly, "Yes Tali it is true," with a flourish he brought one hand to his chest before bending at the waist in a bow with one hand swept to the side.

"Your grasp for profanity leaves me truly humbled."

Tal finally burst out laughing as the crewmen finally lost his balance and fell to the deck in a crash, the rest of the engineering crew torn between laughing and looking ashamed. Tali turned to Dee as she finished laughing, her friend had a satisfied grin on his face as he leaned back against the console with his hands laced behind his head.

"That never gets old," she told him with a grin. It was the fourth time in the last two weeks that they had caught some member of the crew trying to listen in on their conversation. The first time she had been shocked at the flirting tone that her friend suddenly took with her, a whispered explanation later and she had played along in their new favorite pass time.

Messing with the crews heads.

Dee shook his head with a sigh.

"I laugh now," he began sadly, "But I know that one of them is going to try and sic the Evil Queen of Needles on me later in retaliation."

Tali shook her head as another wave of giggles threatened to overtake her.

"Perhaps it would help if you didn't go around calling Dr. Chakwas that."

Dee crossed his arms across his chest before shaking his head vehemently.

"Nuh uh," he said emphatically, "That women is evil and I have proof." He held up his hand and began ticking of points on his fingers.

"First she has the evil doer accent, all evil people have that accent, second she is a doctor and all doctors are evil," he paused for effect as Tali tried desperately to keep from laughing. "And finally," he said with a mad grin on his face, "Her name is an anagram for Hacksaw."

Tali finally lost herself as peals of laughter erupted from her. Behind her she could hear other crew members laughing at her friend's apparent vendetta against the ship's doctor.

Before she could say anything however the intercom at her station chimed.

"Bridge to Dee'Tasi ."

Dee reached behind him and hit the intercom with his elbow.

"Go ahead Joker."

"We are now in range of a Nav Buoy, Commander wants you to do that thing you do."

"Understood Joker," Dee said as he activated his omni tool, "Did you enjoy the show," he finished with a grin on his face. Joker let out a small laugh, "Yeah I did thanks, I should warn you though that Dr. Hacksaw also saw it and will probably be looking for you later."

"Great," he drawled with a dry tone, "thanks for the heads up."

His face then schooled into a mask of concentration as lines of blue and red text began to scroll across his glasses. He had explained to her that the lenses didn't actually correct his eye sight but functioned as a secondary display for his omni tool. As her friend began to mutter to himself she watched as his fingers danced across the interface with no hesitation. She shook her head ruefully.

_'I may know my was around engines,'_ she thought with respect at her friends skill, _'but he has got me beat when it comes to data hacking.'_

After a few moments he crowed triumphantly as he pumped a fist in the air.

"Finally," he laughed as he skimmed through the results of his hack, "Our little lost Asari arrived in system from the direction of the Athens system four days ago and has not left yet."

Tali peered over his shoulder to try and sneak a peek at the omni tool display. She was frustrated to find that instead of the System Alliance standard English, his display was covered in gibberish.

_'Not gibberish,'_ she thought absently recalling what he called it, _'he had called it shorthand I think.'_

She was startled when his face suddenly furrowed in confusion and he began to tap at the interface. "What's wrong Dee," she asked carefully, "Is something wrong with the data?"

Dee shook his head, "No... ," he trailed off before shaking himself and continuing, "The Nav Buoy's records show that there is another ship in system that arrived ten hours ago. It has a silhouette scan of it but it didn't recognize it," he began tapping at his keys and connected to the terminal behind him, "I'm gonna try and match it against the _Normandy's_ war book and see if it gets a hit," he explained, "but for some reason it looks familiar and I don't like it."

Tali tensed at that. Dee often had strange things happen to him, the flashes that they had explained to Shepard had been just one of them, another was these feelings that he would get. Usually he got them before something happened.

And they were never wrong.

Dee let out a curse in a language she recognized as an Earth tongue called Chinese.

"Tyen Shiao-duh!" he spat as he stared at the results, "Jen dao mei!"

Tali started, she had been learning some of the phrases that he used and she could tell from what she heard that something was wrong. She grabbed his arm, "Dee what's wrong? Did the _Normandy_ have a match?"

Dee took a deep breath before looking her in the eye, most people looked at her mask when they spoke to her, some would stare at the respirator at the end of it, but Dee always looked her in the eyes.

"The war book had a match alright," he said with all humor gone from his voice, "It matches a recent entry for a ship type that was at Eden Prime."

The display shifted and showed a wasp like shape that she recognized immediately. It was one of many that all Quarians were taught to recognize.

"Oh Keelah..." she said faintly as she stared at the Geth Cruiser.

Dee nodded grimly as he left to find Shepard.

* * *

**Comm./Briefing Room**

**Twenty Minutes Later**

Kaidan shifted uneasily as he looked around the briefing room. The Commander had ordered the Stealth System activated and the normally bright lit chamber was dark from combat lighting. After he gave that order he told him to gather rest of the squad he had selected and head to the briefing room. He then took Dee'Tasi off to the side and began to speak to the young man in hushed tones. Out of the corner of his eye Kaidan saw Gunnery Chief Eddie Reynolds, the Squad Leader of the _Normandy's_ Marine Detachment. The dark haired man caught his eye and made his way over, in the dim lighting Kaidan could just make out a scar that ran from behind his ear down his neck. When asked the Marine would just say that it was a souvenir from Torfan and leave it at that. But above everything he was a good marine and a smart soldier. Reynolds nodded to his commanding officer as he approached him.

"Do you know what's going on Lieutenant?" he asked quietly. Kaidan shook his head, "No idea chief but something has to be up for the Commander to order us to go silent." Kaidan was suddenly aware of a large mass that was looming behind him. With a blink he realized that somehow Wrex had come up behind him without him realizing it.

_'How in the hell does someone that big move so quietly?'_ he wondered in awe as he realized that Wrex was talking to him and Reynolds.

"Well something better happen soon," Wrex rumbled his voice like a bucket of loose gravel, "I've had that new shotgun tuned just right for over a week and I haven't been able to kill anything yet," he turned to Kaidan and poked him in the chest, "I know enough about you humans to know that you refer to that as being a tease Alenko."

The two marines blinked as they processed what the Krogan had said. After a moment Reynolds cleared his throat, "Uh, Wrex... When humans call someone a tease they are referring to sex not violence."

The Krogan eyed him for a moment before smiling, strangely enough his face seemed less threatening before, "Sex... Violence... Reynolds, to a Krogan those are the same thing." Reynolds nodded for a moment. "That explains a few things," he said in a matter of fact tone before turning to Kaidan, "LT remind me to never date a Krogan girl."

The comment got a deep laugh from Wrex that cut off as the door opened to admit a stony faced Shepard and a pale Dee'Tasi.

"Settle down everyone," Shepard said curtly as he made his way to the monitor at the end of the room, "We don't have a lot of time so listen carefully."

With a wave of his omni tool the monitor sprang to life, on it was displayed a rocky planet, Therum if the name below it was anything to go by. He settled himself in as the Commander began the briefing and idly noticed the rest of those present doing the same. Although there were several seats available he noticed that nobody had moved to sit in them. He couldn't blame them, he didn't think that any of them would be able to sit still with how on edge they all were. He turned his attention back to the Commander.

"According to the Nav Buoy, Dr. Liara T'Soni arrived in system less than a week ago, she then landed on Therum," He motioned towards the display with one hand, "And has not left the planet yet," he took a breath before pressing on, "The problem is that not more than ten hours ago a Geth Cruiser arrived in system and took up orbit above Therum."

Kaidan let out a hiss as he stared at the wasp shape silhouette that now displayed on the screen. While not nearly as big as the Dreadnaught class of ships, the cruiser class formed the backbone of any fleet and easily out massed frigates like the _Normandy_.

_'Granted cruisers have been taken down by frigates before,'_ he thought warily, _'but that was with wolf packs acting in tandem to bring them down never a lone frigate.'_

To Kaidan's left one of the marines, Corporal Adam Cobb a bear of a man, raised a hand to get the Commander's attention. With a nod from his CO he spoke, "Since we seem to be the little guy in this particular fight, we won't be heading in guns blazing Sir?"

Shepard shook his head, "No corporal we won't. We can't be sure that Dr. T'Soni isn't aboard that ship and I would rather the Geth didn't realize we were here just yet."

Beside him Kaidan heard Reynolds speak up, "What's the plan Commander?"

Shepard tapped his omni tool and the monitor shifted back to Therum, this time with a topographical map overlaying it. "I'll take a team and land planet side," Shepard began calmly and then to Kaidan's surprise motioned for Dee'Tasi to step forward. As the young man collected himself Kaidan noticed that he seemed pale and seemed to be muttering to himself again before he stood up straight and began to speak.

"A-alright then," he started shakily, "This is Therum. In 2177 the Eldfell-Ashland Energy Corporation began mining operations based on the results of a Citadel Surveyor Probe. The probe had recorded large amounts of Palladium, Platinum, Tungsten, and other assorted goodies." As he continued to speak his voice became steadier but he kept his eyes planted on the door at the back of the room.

"Later that same year they began uncovering multiple Prothean ruins at the majority of their sites. The Thessian University anthropology department studied the ruins and determined that they were the remains of a Prothean mining operation that had been on the same planet. In 2180 Hanar protesters put a halt to the mining operations declaring that they would quote 'not permit the Enkindler's Holy Site to be desecrated in such manner' unquote. They filed an injunction with the Council that has put a hold on continued operations on the planet for the forseeable future."

Dee took a deep breath and tapped at his omni tool. The monitor shifted to display a large area of the planet surface with multiple marks dotting the surface.

"According to the records, before Eldfell-Ashland left they had approximately fifty dig sites across a two hundred square kilometer area. In addition they had dozens of smaller outpost that acted as surveying sites, security outposts, and comm relays."

At this Garrus spoke up.  
"Why did they need the comm relays?" he asked in curious tone, "Operational range of their radios at the time should have been able to handle the distance to each site easily."

Dee shook his head before answering, "The planet has an excessive amount of volcanic activity dotting it's surface. The sheer amount of ash being put into the atmosphere reduced the comm and their scanner range to nearly one-tenth of the usual range."

"Which will work to our advantage," Shepard interjected as he nodded to Dee, the young man nodded gratefully as he backed towards the wall, Shepard continued the briefing.

"The plan is for the ground team to make a covert insertion using the Mako," he began as the monitor one again changed to display the planned course of action, "The team will then make their way to one of these outposts and hack the security system to find out which site Dr. T'Soni set up at. We will then proceed to extract the doctor and make our way to a secluded pickup site without the Geth being any the wiser."

Garrus leaned forward to comment, "Not to be a voice of doubt here Shepard, but don't the Geth Troops have portable scanners? The ash may keep the cruiser from spotting the Mako but won't they detect it and report back to the ship?"

Shepard nodded, "They do have scanners but we have a solution for that, we are outfitting the Mako with a device that Tali and Dee came up with when they were tracking the Geth. It's an ECM package that can prevent the Geth from seeing us provided they don't close within 30 meters of us."

That got a snort from Cobb. "Hell commander," he began in a gruff tone, "At thirty meters I could spit at em." Tali turned to face the big man and even through her tinted visor he could see her eyes narrow. "I truly hope you do more than spit at them Corporal," she said in an icy tone, "because the scrambler will be using the Mako's Kinetic Barriers to function. If the barriers go down then we will be visible to any Geth unit within range."

"Enough," the commander cut them off before they could say anymore, "The ground team will consist of myself, Wrex, Tali, Dee, and two marines of your choosing Chief." Reynolds answer was cut off as Williams moved forward.

"Commander you can't be serious!" she protested loudly, "The Mako can hold twelve people easy, why not leave the techs here and take everyone else."

Beside him Kaidan could see Reynolds jaw tense making the scars on his neck even more prominent. With a start he realized that it looked like the man was about to attack Williams. Before he could move to stop the man from doing anything Shepard spoke with an even tone.

"Williams as I said before the intention of this op is to _covertly_ infiltrate and extract the doctor. We are not there lay siege to the Geth. As such the Marines will be crewing the Mako to provide fire support while Dee and Tali have experience evading Geth Patrols."

Williams straightened as though she finally realized that this was her commanding officer in front of her.

"If that's so then why bring Wrex, Sir."

Dee stepped forward to answer.

"He's trying to keep the team small to evade any trouble but have enough firepower to deal with trouble if that fails Williams," Dee shrugged as he continued, "To put it bluntly he is the largest concentration of violence out of the entire crew," with a tight grin he finished with, "Besides I'm pretty sure the Citadel classifies Krogans as a Species of Mass Destruction."

His posture suddenly became rigid as said Krogan appeared beside him and clapped a large hand on his shoulder.

"Species of Mass Destruction eh..." Wrex mused thoughtfully before turning to the young man with a wide grin, "I think that's the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me."

Kaidan grinned at Dee's discomfort until a thought occurred to him.

"Commander," he said slowly, "While you're on the ground what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

Shepard turned to the monitor and once again the wasp like cruiser was displayed.

"According to the reports at Eden Prime," Shepard said seriously, "These cruiser can piggyback up to eight drop ships on the outside of their hull. Each drop ship had approximately four hundred Geth Troops packed into each one."

Shepard turned to address the crew members that we're remaining aboard the _Normandy_, "As far as we can tell only one has actually gone to the surface. The _Normandy_ will follow the cruiser and make sure that no more try and land."

Kaidan nodded numbly.

Eight drop ships with four hundred enemy troops each. Three thousand two hundred enemy troops, and four hundred of those were already on the ground.

_'I'm not sure which is worse,'_ he thought, _'Outnumbered on the ground or outgunned in orbit.'_

He was brought out of his thoughts as the commander shut down the monitor.

"We'll be approaching the planet shortly, ground team to the vehicle bay to prep, the rest of you to your duty stations. Dismissed."

break break break

_**Normandy**_** vehicle bay**

As Tali checked her equipment for a third time she couldn't help but feel a thrill go down her spine. As she looked around she focused on the crewmembers that were working quickly to position the Mako on the large mass effect catapult that ran the length of the bay towards the doors at the end. As she looked at the large armored vehicle she couldn't help but shake her head in wonder.

The last few years she had heard several of her people return from their pilgrimage speaking of the new comers in Council Space. She had heard them describe how they used technology in the most unorthodox manner and how sometimes it even worked. She laughed quietly to herself as she thought of her situation.

_'Not even a year ago I was listening to the adults speak of the humans as though they were some sort of mythical creature, and now I am preparing to go into a warzone with an elite squad of them while serving on their most advanced ship!'_ she thought with no small amount of amazement. To one side she watched as Chief Reynolds made his way towards Shepard with two Marines in tow. The veteran marine gave a quick salute before giving the Mako a look of longing.

"Kinda wish I was going with you sir," he said in a wistful tone, "I prefer a piss poor odds ground op to space any day," he shook his head, "But you need troopers who can sneak and I prefer to make a statement."

Reynolds stepped to the side and gestured to the two Marines behind him, "Privates Crespin and Reese sir. They are without a doubt the ugliest, sorriest, most useless waste of perfectly good carbon this side of the Skyllian Verge, of course that said..." Shepard gave a knowing smile as he picked up the Chiefs train of thought, "That said it goes without saying that means that they are damned good Marines."

He gave the two men a once over before motioning for them towards the parked Mako. After a moment she returned to her gear as she absently looked for Dee.

_'I wonder where he is?'_

She was brought out of her thoughts as one of the Marines came over to her. He was slightly taller than her with reddish hair and an easy smile.

"Tali'Zorah correct?" at her nod his smile got even wider, "I'm Mickey and I'll be your driver today."

Tali stared at him blankly not sure what to make of the man as a familiar dark haired man came up beside him. Private Duane Reese had been assigned by Lt. Alenko to help her and Dee get familar with the ship as well as help give them some advanced weapons training.

"Never mind Private Crespin here Tali," Reese told her gently as he gave his fellow marine a level look, "We're pretty sure he was dropped on his head during boot." Mickey protested the statement as Reese turned to her fully.

"Commander had me come over to make sure that your equipment was all ready to go." Tali gave him a nod, "Yes everything is ready I'm just waiting on Dee." She thought she saw the two marines exchange a quick smirk but she couldn't be sure. She was brought out of her thought by the arrival of her friend. As he approached them she felt herself grow concerned, while she thought he looked a little pale back at the briefing she was now sure that his face had taken a very unhealthy shade and looked like he was about to collapse.

"Are you alright?" she asked not bothering to mask her concern. Dee gave a chuckle even as he eyed the Mako warily.

"Tali I'm about to be drop kicked via mass effect catapult, out of a ship in a vehicle that was not constructed with flight in mind," he gave another weak chuckle, "the fact that I have yet to be sick can be attributed to both my strong constitution and the fact that I haven't eaten anything today."

As she tried to think of some way to help him the two marines decided to speak up.

"You don't have to worry too much Dee," Crespin started with a grin, "This is a proven system, you just have to focus on a positive thought and you'll be fine." Dee gave him a nod as he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

"You'll also want to make sure you don't swallow your tongue," Reese told them in a deadpan voice. At the looks the three gave him he shrugged, "I'm just saying that it's not a pretty way to go and you should be aware of that." Any further comment was cut off by the announcement that they were ten minutes from the drop zone. With a nod the two Marines left the two by themselves and made their way to the Mako. After she was sure that nobody was nearby she turned back to her friend, despite his assurances he was still very pale and she could see his hands shaking.

"Dee, you don't have to come along," as he looked at her she felt her cheeks heat up and continued in a rush, "I mean we can probably make do with just me dealing with the tech. We could ask Shepard to keep you on the _Normandy_ just in case..." she was cut off by a wave from Dee. He gave her an honest smile before speaking, "Thanks Tali but I'll be fine."

"Really? You are sure?" she asked skeptically.

Dee gave her a nod, "Hey I've stuck by you this long haven't I? I think I can tough it out for this much at least."

The two made their way to the Mako and into the rear loading hatch. Once inside the two sat down next Wrex and across from the two Marines. The two were already strapped in and to Tali's surprise Reese appeared to be asleep.

At seeing their incredulous look Mickey spoke up, "Reese always sleeps through combat drops, we just have to make sure that we wake him up when we land."

Shepard made his way into the compartment and began checking each of their harnesses in turn before sitting down next to Reese and securing his own. Within moments he was secure and the rear hatch for the Mako was closed. She could faintly hear the sound of the hangar doors opening and as she looked towards the front of the vehicle to try and catch a glimpse of it through the monitors she saw that Dee had his eyes clenched shut and seemed to be on the verge of passing out. As she heard Joker announce that they were one minute away from the drop zone she acted on impulse and reached down to grab Dee's hand in her own. With a start Dee gave a quick glance at his hand before giving her a questioning look. She gave him a smile which he returned, she really wanted to know how it was he seemed to know when she was smiling, and turned her head to look at the others. She was vaguely aware that Shepard had a grin on his face as she listened to the ships VI countdown the remaining time. She was only vaguely aware of Pressly wishing them luck over the channel just as the VI reached zero. Her concentration was on her friend beside her and the hand that she was holding. As she heard the telltale whine of the catapult prepare to fire she found it odd how comfortable it was to hold his hand.

The thought was quickly vanished as with a crack the catapult engaged.

Launch.

* * *

Chinese

Tyen Shiao-duh!- Name of all that is Sacred.

Jen dao mei! - Just our luck.

**AN**

Wow I did not expect that to carry on as long as it did and 8,000 words to boot! Originally I had planned on having a two chapter bit to cover Therum but then I started to get carried away. Long story short this is the first part of a four part segment to cover Therum.

I'm taking a bit of creative license with this for a few reasons. First is that I never really cared for the mission in the game and hopefully you'll like my changes. Second was the addition of Marines in my story. If you haven't guessed the marines are based on the characters played by Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Alan Tudyk in the game Halo ODST. Reese is based of Michael Biehn's character Hicks from the Aliens movie. I'm have some plans for these four and I hope they are well recieved.

The chinese that I am using are some phrases that I picked up watching Firefly (Damned good show) and I'm hoping that it may provide another clue towards Dee's identity.

Exams are finally over so It shouldn't be too long until my next chapter although with the release of FF XIII that maybe difficult.

Next Chapter: Tali gives the story of the Geth's creation and the _Normandy_ struts her stuff.

Read and Review


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